CardioExchange Archive

September 7th, 2012

News Briefs: Cholesterol Trends, AHA Late-Breakers, FDA Updates On Rivaroxaban And Heartware HVAD

Larry Husten, PHD

Cholesterol Trends The Centers for Disease Control issued a new report with the latest details about the prevalence of cholesterol screening and high blood cholesterol in U.S. adults. Here is their summary of the key findings: …cholesterol screening increased from 72.7% in 2005 to 76.0% in 2009, whereas the percentage of those screened who reported being told […]

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September 6th, 2012

Unrecognized MI: More Prevalent and Dangerous Than Previously Suspected

Larry Husten, PHD

Unrecognized myocardial infarction is more prevalent, and is associated with a worse prognosis, than may be generally understood.

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September 4th, 2012

CDC: Nearly 36 Million Americans Have Uncontrolled Hypertension

Larry Husten, PHD

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, new data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) show: 30.4% of U.S. adults (an estimated 66.9 million people) have hypertension. Of those with hypertension, 53.5% have uncontrolled hypertension (about 35.8 million people). 39.4% with uncontrolled hypertension (about 14.1 million) are unaware that they have hypertension. 89.4% with […]

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August 27th, 2012

When Does a Risk Marker Make the Mark?

J Michael Gaziano, MD, MPH, Amit Khera, MD, MSc and Khurram Nasir, MD MPH

Three prevention experts comment on two recent studies of cardiovascular risk markers. Does coronary artery calcium scoring now make the grade for routine use?

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August 27th, 2012

The Return of Vorapaxar, This Time for Post-MI Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

The once highly promising novel antiplatelet agent vorapaxar, widely thought to be dead on arrival after unacceptably high serious bleeding rates were found in two large clinical trials, has now returned to active duty. On Sunday the drug’s sponsor, Merck, announced that it would seek approval of the drug, with a narrower indication than originally planned, based on new […]

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August 26th, 2012

First Detailed Look At Why Aliskiren Failed To Gain ALTITUDE

Larry Husten, PHD

This once-promising renin inhibitor was no better than placebo when it came to the composite outcome, but showed worrisome trends, especially when it came to stroke.

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August 24th, 2012

Is Bad News About Fibrates Getting Buried?

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

A meta-analysis about lipid-modifying therapies and risk for pancreatitis focuses on a benefit of statins but de-emphasizes potential harm from fibrates.

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August 22nd, 2012

NHLBI Announces 7000-Patient Trial to Test Inflammation Hypothesis

Larry Husten, PHD

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has announced the launch of a large clinical trial testing the inflammation hypothesis. Paul Ridker is the principal investigator of the trial, which will be known as  the Cardiovascular Inflammation Reduction Trial (CIRT). CIRT will enroll 7,000 patients who are stable following a heart attack but are at high risk for a […]

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August 21st, 2012

Cardiovascular Risk Prediction: Two More Studies, Little Progress

Larry Husten, PHD

Two studies published in JAMA provide new data — and, perhaps, some additional clarity — about using additional markers to help improve risk prediction for coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In one study, Joseph Yeboah and colleagues used data from 1330 intermediate-risk participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)  to analyze the prognostic value […]

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August 21st, 2012

Shining a Light on Standards at Medical Journals

Druin Burch, BM BCh MA MSc, John Stephen Yudkin, MB BChir MD FRCP and Marion Marjorie Mafham, MBChB MD

Recent articles in the diabetes literature might provide more evidence about editorial standards than about glycemic control.

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